


The Golden Saucer, the Happiest Place on Gaia

by TheWhimsicalBard



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Funny, Golden Saucer, Light-Hearted, Romance, date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-06 01:57:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12201606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWhimsicalBard/pseuds/TheWhimsicalBard
Summary: Cloud and Tifa decide to have some fun at the Golden Saucer





	The Golden Saucer, the Happiest Place on Gaia

**Author's Note:**

> I'm p much rewriting this entire part of the game cause it pissed me off

Cloud lied on his bed staring at the ceiling. His hands clutched the back of his head. His gaze was intense. Everyone else had gone to bed after an exciting night at the Golden Saucer. Even Barrett had calmed down enough to have some fun. The boy however, couldn’t relax. His entire drive to find and defeat Sephiroth kept him tense and barred him from any kind of good night sleep. He could only rest a maximum of four hours a day and an hour and a half at minimum. 

There was a knock on the door of his hotel room. The spikey-haired boy sat up onto the corner of the bed.

“Come in.” The door creaked open noisily. God he hated this ghost hotel. Everything was a cheap detail to be as scary as possible. Tifa walked in. 

“Hey Cloud….” She spoke nervously after noticing how intense Cloud looked. She’s always seen him like this but let it slide for they never rested comfortably since leaving Midgar. She thought he would at least be a little more relaxed in the vast change in scenery. Colours, lights, music, entertainment and relaxation. The environment was nowhere close to any other resting points they previously stopped at.

“What did you need?” He didn’t mean to come off in the tone he did. He spoke quick and gruff and kind of rudely. 

“Well...I’m not feeling completely tired and I think we should sneak out and have some fun.“

“Fun?” 

“Yeah it’ll be good for you, you haven’t let loose a breath since we’ve came here.”

Cloud scratched the back of his head. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt.”

Tifa walked closer to him and grabbed his wrist. “C’mon then, let’s go!”

The swordsman didn’t bother to fight it or resist. He let her pull him off the bed and followed out the door. 

 

There was much to do and Tifa wanted to hit as many stops as possible before the night was over. The first attraction were the Chocobo races. Cloud leaned back against the wall facing the monitor hanging above the bets table. 

“Which ones did you bet on? I bet on the blue, yellow, and purple ones.” Tifa looked down at the cards that had the rewards marked on them. Five gold pieces or a Phoenix Down if she won.

Cloud shrugged. “I just picked a bunch at random”. He looked down at the cards he selected without looking. Red, white and black. 

A horn blasted from the tv. The chocobos on screen began to trot. The first quarter of the race was difficult to decide who was going to win. Towards the middle of the race, all of the chocobos lagged behind the golden and jet one who were neck and neck. They passed each other every few seconds. At the end of the ice cave, the jet one emerged victorious by a beak. 

“Dammit.” Tifa crumbled her ticket.

Cloud looked down at his hands. “Looks like I win this one.” For once his friend saw a smile on his face. He walked up to the counter. “I’ll be taking my gold pieces now.” 

The man behind the counter took his ticket and pushed open the register. “Here you are you lucky winner. If you ever want to race again come back anytime.”

He turned around and faced Tifa. “Feeling like doing another go, or is there somewhere else you wanted to check out?”

Tifa giggled. “As much as I’d love to sit here and lose another bet to you, I want to check out some of the other stuff.”

“Okay then, where else do you want to go?”

“How about you pick the next stop?”

 

The second stop was the arcade room. Cloud walked up to the machine with the mounted bike.

“You should be good at this, after all you did ride a motorcycle out of Midgar.” Tifa egged him on to try his hand at the game.

He slowly climbed on the bike. He leaned left and right and twisted the handlebars to get a feel for the controller. The screen started flashing.  _ “Are you ready? 3..2...1...Go!”  _ Cloud twisted the right handle of the bike. His avatar sped up, bumping the AI out of the way. 

“You’re right, I am good at this.” He braked and leaned over to turn the corner.

“If you can escape a city with soldiers on our asses you should be able to handle a few bots.” Tifa teased him. 

The screen flashed and loaded up all the records.Bright yellow text flickered as Cloud managed to beat the number one time.    
“Sweet, I’m the new top dog for this.” He nonchalantly commented as he climbed off the bike. “Did you wanna have a go?”

“Please, after that I don’t want to embarrass myself.” Tifa giggled.

“Alright, how about a game where you’ll have a little bit more of an edge on?” The boy boasted.

“What do you have in mind?” 

He led her to the basketball game. He picked up a ball and tossed it to the hoop. It bounced on the rim of the hoop and then slid back down to him.

“Hang on...kinda rusty, I haven’t done this in a while.” He picked up the same ball and threw it onto the backboard. The orange ball bounced up in the air and then back down into the hoop. 

Tifa looked down at the ball in front of her. She held it up to her face and took a few seconds to focus on her aim. She lightly launched it forward, the ball landing perfectly into the hoop. She turned her head and smirked at Cloud. “I’m a bit out of it too.”

Cloud leaned back at the gesture. He felt a slight jab at his pride. “Okay Tifa, if this is how we’re doing this, then let’s go.” He pressed the two player button on the side of the machine. Two balls rolled out of the return.

Tifa grabbed the first ball quickly and threw it onto the backboard and into the hoop.

Cloud threw the second ball, it rolled around the hoop before slowly falling in. 

Tifa’s score was made effortlessly meanwhile Cloud had a few bumps and struggles to keep up. Two minutes later, the brawler had a six point lead off the swordsman.

“Guess I win this one!” She had a smug grin on her face. 

Cloud squinted at her. “I want one more go!” 

“Suit yourself, if you wanna go 0-2!”

“Best of five, let’s go!”

 

Cloud leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed and his head tilted down.

“Oh come on, don’t be like that.” Tifa nudged his shoulder.

“I didn’t get a single win, so I’m going to pout.” 

“At least enjoy the view when it comes.”  The gondola ride had started and the couple began to move. Tifa glanced out the window and saw the Golden Saucer from the outside.

“It’s so beautiful….isn’t it.”

Cloud remained silent but shared in viewing the unique view. The gondola rose higher to the sky. Coloured lights exploded and flared all around them. The fireworks flashed purple, yellow, red, white. Tifa’s eyes and smile widened with every firework that went off. She looked back at Cloud.

“Hey Cloud, can I tell you something?” 

He perked his head up.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I….I had a really good time tonight, I think this is something we both needed. Just fun and no care or worries.”

The blonde smiled softly.

“I agree, I don’t remember when I felt this relaxed…”

She smiled wider after seeing his.

“I…”

The finale firework ignited. The loud bang drowned out what Tifa’s voice. Cloud’s focus completely turned onto the multi-coloured explosion outside the gondola. 

“Whoa…..that was awesome!”

 

The gondola pulled back to the station. The two exited with satisfied faces. 

“Hey Tifa, what were you going to say before that firework went off?”

“Oh...nothing.” He didn’t buy it one bit. “I think it’s time we head back to the hotel, don’t you think?”

“Actually, do you mind if we hit up one last spot before we go back?”

“Sure, what do you have in mind?” She tilted her head as she asked.

He smiled at her and grabbed her hand softly. “Follow me, you’ll know when we get there.”

 

“Long, long ago….” An old man narrated. The red curtains pulled away from the stage. The stage lights lit up. Nothing but a village backdrop could be seen by the audience.

“An evil shadow appeared over the peaceful kingdom of Galdia. Princess Rosa was kidnapped by the Evil Dragon King, Valvados. What will become of her? Just then, the legendary hero, Alfred, appears!” 

Cloud scuttled to the center of the stage. To his left was a knight ballet spinning in his direction. 

“Oh, you must be the legendary hero, Alfred! Please...please save Princess Rosa!”

Shortly after, an old man with a large, white, beard and blue, royal, robes walked on stage.

“Oh hero, please save my beloved Rosa. On the peak of the mountain, dwells the Evil Dragon King,Valvados. You must rescue her.”

Another man entered the stage. Spinning to the center back was a man with a grey beard and green robes and a pointy hat.

“I am the great wizard, Vorman, I will aid you on your quest. I have a limitless amount of knowledge, anything to help you rescue the princess is at your disposal.”

Cloud put his fingers to his chin. “How does one go about slaying the Evil Dragon King, Valvados? What is his weakness?”

“The only weapon strong enough to defeat him is….true love!” The wizard raised his arms dramatically. “Oh hero...look!”

A large green dragon holding Tifa in its arms glided to the center of the stage. It’s vile laugh filled the stage.

“I am the Evil Dragon King, Valvados. I’ve been expecting you!”

Tifa smiled, she enjoying being an actress for the moment. “Aaah, save me Alfred!”

“Remember hero, only an act of true love can defeat him.”

Cloud looked at the eyes of the dragon then down at Tifa. He marched forward and dropped to one knee. Tifa stood up and extended her arm. He gently grasped her hand and kissed the back of it.

“Aaa~ The power is too strong for me.” The dragon roared.

Cloud stood up quickly and pulled Tifa closer to him. He leaned in forward and kissed her. Her eyes widened. She was completely unsuspecting of his action but slowly embraced it. Her eyes closed. Her right hand clutched his shoulder. Her left hand grasped the back of his head. 

“It’s too strong!” The dragon fell on its back, strings attached to the limbs pulled it off stage.

Cloud leaned back from her.

“I love you too Tifa….” He muttered under his breath.

Her cheeks turned rose coloured. She pulled him back in for another kiss.

They walked up the steps inside the ghost hotel. Tifa looked up at Cloud.

“It’s been a fun night….thanks for coming out with me.”   
“Thanks for bringing me out.’ He smiled warmly at her.

“Hey, can I stay in your room for the night? My room has a crack in the window and it’s kinda chilly in there.”

“Oh sure, no problem! I only have one bed though.”

“I wouldn’t mind sharing it with you.” 

The boy was flushed at the remark. 

“Neither would I.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you didn't pick it up, Cloud's chocobo choices were Tifa's colour scheme and vice versa


End file.
